This devotional is about Jeremiah 5:24: “They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’”

When God opened Noah’s ark, he made a covenant with humanity called the “Noahic Covenant.” The sign of that covenant was the rainbow and the content of it was the promise never to destroy the earth again with a flood. Part of that promise, though, was that there would be a predictability to the world: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Gen 8:22).

God has been faithful to this promise and here in Jeremiah 5:24 he raised it as evidence against the unbelief of his people. Instead of realizing that this was an expression of God’s love, people take it for granted. Other passages of scripture (Ps 19:1, Rom 1:20, Acts 14:17) tell us that this operation of nature is a powerful witness to God’s existence, power, goodness, and love. Yet humanity--whether Jewish or Gentile--is so hardhearted that people deny God’s existence or his knowability. If you’ve ever wondered why people who have never heard of Jesus are condemned, this is a big reason why. The first reason, of course is sin; we all sin and sin demands eternal death. But part of the wickedness of sin is that people see God’s goodness and love each day, depend on it for survival and existence, but don’t cry out for God to save us or reveal himself to us.

In the next verse, Jeremiah 5:25, God said he has taken these things away from his people because of their sins. Although God’s creation witnesses to all humanity about him, only those who know him will worship him for his creation. It is a beautiful summer day as I write this; maybe it will be when you read it. Take time to thank God for his love and faithfulness to all humanity. Then ask God to help us as a church family reach others with the gospel they need to worship the Creator God for who he really is.

Maybe this isn’t an issue anymore, but people used to complain that contemporary worship songs are too repetitive. I actually agree for the most part with that complaint and we try in our worship service to limit repetition that has no purpose.

Nevertheless, Psalm 136 is kind of repetitive; it contains the refrain, “His love endures forever” in every verse, after every other line of text. Perhaps this was written to be a “call and response” type of song where one group sang a line and another group responded with, “His love endures forever.”

Despite the repetitions, there is plenty of truth to consider in this song. The song begins with three calls to “give thanks to the Lord” (v. 1), “to the God of gods” (v. 2), and “to the Lord of lords.” The rest of the song fill-in the reasons to give thanks to God for his goodness. They are:

his creative power (vv. 4-9)

his redeeming love for Israel (vv. 10-22)

his continuing protection and provision (vv. 23-25).

That first section, verses 4-9, praise God for his creative power. He “made the heavens” (v. 5a), “spread out the earth upon the waters” (v. 6a), made the sun (v. 8a), moon and stars (v. 9a). Clearly, the psalmist believed that God was directly responsible for the design and existence of the material reality around us.

So, if we deny the literal creation account given in Genesis 1-2, what does that do to a passage like this? If theistic evolution--the idea that God started the process but that evolution did the rest--were true, what would that do to a song like this one?

The answer is that it would rob this song of any real ability to praise the Lord. Those who sang this song would be ringing a hollow tone, praising God for something that he had very little to do with. And this is just one example of the damage that is done to scripture and our faith if we abandon the doctrine of creation. The Bible began with the account of creation because so much of what is revealed about God in his word is tied to creation. Creation shows us God’s power, his wisdom, and his love. It calls us to bow before him in reverent worship and to know that we belong to God and are subject to him because he made us. What you make, you own and what you own you control. We belong to God because he made us. Therefore, he is worthy of our love, praise, obedience, and devotion.

Do you believe in the biblical account of Creation? Do you understand how important that belief is to knowing God and following him as his people?

It is really satisfying to do something and be happy about how it turns out. It might be a picture that you took that looks really good. You had it framed and put it up in your home and, periodically when you walk by, it just makes you smile. Or maybe it is a picture that you painted, or flooring that you installed yourself, or a piece of furniture that you repaired or restored. When we do something that turns out well, it brings us a very satisfying sense of pleasure.

The Psalmist here in Psalm 104 believed that God must feel that sense of satisfaction when he looks at creation. As verse 31b says, “may the Lord rejoice in his works.” The Psalmist certainly rejoiced in God’s works. From verse 1 through verse 30, the songwriter detailed what God has created and praised him for it. Then, in verse 33, he announced his intention to “sing to the Lord all my life” and in verse 34 stated his desire: “May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.” Of all of God’s work, this satisfies God the most. When men and women whom he created worship him and desire to please him even in our thoughts, then God is truly glorified. All of this happens by God’s grace to us in Christ and, when it does happen, it brings immense pleasure to our Lord.

When we take time to think about God in his fullness and awesomeness, those thoughts elevate us spiritually. They cause us to stand in awe of God’s greatness and create in us a desire to know and serve the God who redeemed us. Take some time today to think about the size, complexity, beauty, and intricate detail of the world around us that God created. Then praise him and ask for his help to have a heart and mind that aspire to be pleasing to him.

This simple song oozes with joy. Verse 1 calls all the earth to “shout for joy.” Verse 2 commands us to worship him “with gladness” and come before him (in worship) “with joyful songs.”

Joy is an attractive emotion. But why should we do all this shouting and singing and worshipping with joy? The answer is in verse 3. That verse is the hinge on which this Psalm turns. We should worship joyfully because we belong to God:

He is God (v. 3a) and he made us (v. 3b) therefore we are his (v. 3c). What you make, you own. What you own, you control. We belong to God because he’s God and we’re his creation. But, the verse goes on and says:

We are his people (v. 3d). This refers to God’s covenant with Israel. His promises to Abraham and his descendants formed a unique relationship which made all Israelites “his people” in a more significant sense than “his by creation.” This promise to Israel still stands but we Gentiles have been grafted into it by God’s grace (see Romans 11:13-17).

But then, after describing how we belong to God by creation and by grace, the Psalmwriter says this, “we are... the sheep of his pasture.” This image suggests God’s care for us. He provides for us “his pasture” which we need in order to be nourished and healthy. He protects us from predators and cares about our spiritual well-being. We’re in good hands because they are his hands, the hands of the perfect shepherd.

Because we belong to God, he watches over and cares for us. What more reason, then, does a person need to “enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (v. 4)? Verse 5 affirms that God is good, he is loyally-loving, and he is faithful. Why? Because we belong to him.

This is directly opposite to how we think. We think (in our sinful thought patterns, that is) that to belong to God means to be controlled, manipulated, subjected, harassed by rules and punished severely. This Psalm argues the opposite. Because we belong to God he will take care of us. Most dog owners will feed and water and care for their dog because it belongs to them. Most of the same people won’t do anything for the stray dog that goes wandering through their backyards. The stray dog may be “free” to what he wants, but he becomes dirty and starved in the process. The dog that is truly free is the one that is loved and cared for.

This is why we rejoice. We belong to God but he loves us and will provide everything that is good for us like a great shepherd provides for his sheep. This is something to be joyful and bring glad praise for today.

Have you approached him “with thanksgiving” (v. 4) yet? If not, do that next.

This world belongs to God. Its majestic mountains, its powerful rolling ocean waves, its placid lakes, its glorious skies, the abundance of life in plants and animals, humanity and its cities, towns, villages, farms all exist under the Lordship of God the Creator of everything (vv. 1-2).

Yet, fellowship with God the Creator is impossible. Only the righteous can know him, fellowship with him, and receive his blessings (vv. 3-6) and none of us qualifies. God in his grace forgives those who trust in Him, but none of us deserves the favor of his presence.

When we know God, we realize that there is a strange tension between the fact that we belong to him but are unworthy to fellowship with him or receive his blessings. What hope is there of resolving this tension?

Jesus.

David didn’t know him by that name, but he did know and he believed that the true king would come to live among his people. Verses 7-10 describe the person of Christ and express the hope of his victorious coming. When Jesus, the true king, comes, he will defeat his enemies (v. 8) and enter his city victoriously (vv. 7, 9). David wanted to see “The Lord Almighty... the King of glory” not just own the earth, but to dwell on it among his people. This, too, is our hope. It is why Jesus commanded us to pray, “Your kingdom come.” It is why Jesus came the first time--to begin gathering citizens from all over the world into his kingdom by faith.

When the world is unjust, unsafe, ungodly, unsatisfying, and just plain weird, here is where we should turn our hope. Jesus, the king of glory, has defeated sin and death through his death and resurrection. When he comes again, he will defeat all the enemies who oppose him and establish the perfect kingdom we are waiting for. Let that hope carry you through the tough, unhappy times in this life. The pain will be worth it when the king of glory, the Lord Almighty, comes!

And what a great group of Psalms to read to prepare our hearts for worship. Each one of them calls us to think deeply about the greatness of God. Please read them all for the good of your own soul, but I’m going to write about Psalm 8, specifically verses 3-9. In this passage, David laid on his back in the countryside around Bethlehem and turned his eyes toward the sky. With his sheep gathered in the pasture around him, he looked up into the clear dark sky. There were no city lights on earth to impair his view and no clouds to hide what was beyond our atmosphere. And what did he see? Stars. A vast, black canopy in every direction punctuated by points of light scattered everywhere. As he thought about those dots of light, small but intensely bright, he must have known that each of those stars was like our sun. But think about how far away you would have to be for our sun to look like the North Star, for instance, looks to us. So he realized that beyond the earth was an enormous place full of suns like ours so far away he couldn’t even imagine the distance.

We don’t know if David wrote this when he was a shepherd or if he wrote it while he was king, perhaps unable to sleep some night or just remembering the peacefulness of his shepherding days. One thing we can conclude, however, is that David reflected on the vastness of space and the glory of the heavenly bodies far beyond us. If the created universe is that big, that magnificent, then even the greatest king on earth is like a gnat in comparison to God’s creation and, of course, compared to God himself. So in awe and worship David cried out in verse 4, “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” He then went on to meditate on how much God has entrusted to us. As weak and insignificant as we are compared to God and his universe, God made us kings over his earthly creation (vv. 6-8) so that we could master and enjoy it all as his gracious provision to us. This gives us a glimpse of the majesty and kindness of God. His majesty is seen in the greatness of his creation; his kindness is seen in how he has exalted us and provided for us through that creation.

In addition to all that God has done for us in Christ, our role in this world calls us to worship the Lord and wonder at his greatness. It also gives us a hint of what awaits for us when we see him and live finally and fully redeemed on the new earth. Let these truths encourage your heart and prepare you to worship as we gather together for worship this morning.

If you’re following the schedule, you should read these chapters today: Leviticus 16, Psalm 19, Proverbs 30, 1 Timothy 1. Click on any of those references to see all the passages in one long page on BibleGateway. If you can't do all the readings today, read Psalm 19.

Someone* once said that God has given us two books: Scripture and nature. This is not a perfect analogy, but it is a useful one. Psalm 19 explores these two expressions of God’s revelation. Verses 1-6 describe the book of nature; verses 7-13 describe the book of scripture. Verse 14 gives a benediction to conclude the passage.

First the Psalmist writes about nature (also called “general revelation”). It tells us of the glory of God—what makes him great, unique, magnificent (v. 1a). This quality of God is revealed by “the heavens” (v. 1a) and the “skies” (v. 1b). These aspects of creation bear witness to the craftsmanship of God. Rather than products of random chance, they speak powerfully of a God who created. Day and night, according to verse 2, they shout to humanity about the existence and magnificent power of God. They do this wordlessly (v. 3) but effectively in a way that testifies to all people no matter where they reside on earth (v. 4a-b). In verses 4c-6, the Psalmist focused his meditation on the sun. It resides in the sky which God created to be its home (“a tent,” v. 4b) and emerges each day with brilliance and energy, like a man whose wedding day has finally arrived (v. 5a) or a sprinter who is ready to run for the gold medal (v. 5b). The movement of the sun sheds light on the entire earth so that no one is unaware of its existence or deprived of its benefits (v. 6). This testifies to the goodness of God; even those who reject him receive the gracious benefits of his creation. Many have tried to use science to disprove the existence of God but the more we learn about our world and universe, the more we see how finely tuned this world is to support life. All of this testifies to the power and goodness of God, but it does so wordlessly. Since it is wordless, it cannot tell us of God's holiness, righteousness, justice, grace, etc.

Scripture (also called “special revelation") is, therefore, more helpful and revelatory for knowing God. It is perfect (v. 7a), trustworthy (v. 7b), right (v. 8a), radiant (v. 8b), “pure” (v 9a), “firm” and “righteous” (v. 9b). These terms are piled up by the Psalmist to emphasize how much greater and more powerful the scriptures are than nature in revealing God. They are also more beneficial to the spiritual life of humanity as indicated in the phrases “refreshing the soul” (v. 7b), “making wise the simple (v, 7d), “giving joy to the heart” (v. 8b) and so on.

While creation is magnificent and draws the heart of the believer to worship, it is not nearly as valuable for our spiritual life as scripture is; this is why the Psalmist says they are “more precious than gold” and “sweeter than honey” (v. 10). Specifically, they warn us about sin and its consequences (v. 11a) while promising blessing to us for obedience (v. 11b). Yet the Psalmist knows that, in our own natural state we are unable to live obediently to God’s perfect, pure, priceless Word, so we need God’s grace in forgiveness and sanctification (vv. 12-13). He concludes this meditation on divine revelation with a prayer that God would be pleased with it as an act of worship (v. 14).

What an incredible gift the scriptures are to us; they provide everything we need to know God in his personality, character, will, and ways. This is why we read his word daily and why I try each week to explain and apply it to your life. There are many insights that come from studying nature, but the insights that transform lives for eternity come from God’s word alone.

Now for your thoughts: What stood out in your Bible reading for today? What questions do you have about what you read? What are your thoughts about what I wrote above? Post them in the comments below or on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/calvarybiblechurch/. And, feel free to answer and interact with the questions and comments of others. Have a great day; we'll talk scripture again tomorrow.

*According to this article it was Francis Bacon. While I agree with the author’s criticism of the "two book" claim, Psalm 19 shows that the concept is a biblical one if the differences between these two revelations are understood.

Our current weekend message series, Centered, uses our solar system or an atom as a way of describing what is most important to each of us in life.

This has nothing to do with the series, really, but look at this great video that depicts our solar system to scale, starting with the earth as the size of a marble. It is so worth the 7 minutes it will take you to watch it. The final scene where the sun rises is amazing.